Just before the NRA Annual Meetings in Indianapolis, Indiana, I got an email from Gary Ramey, the guy behind Honor Defense. Seems Honor was about to go live with a new feature on their website, and he thought I might be interested.
The new feature? “Design Your Own Custom Pistol”- and it works as promised. You go to the website (www.honordefense.com) click on the tab “Design your own custom pistol” - and you’re directed to the page from which you can then choose any one of the wide variety of Honor pistol variations.
As I wandered through the site, I pretty quickly lost track of time because I’m one of those odd guys who likes to shop. So I tried all sorts of variations, color combations, safeties, backstraps, sights, barrel lengths and finishes.
Like all Honor Defense models, the custom unit is a stainless-steel modular chassis, ambidextrous magazine release, and disassembles without a trigger pull. There are several other standard features, but the design options allow for changes in everything from the sights to the backstraps.
It’s not unusual to have the ability to custom-design a pistol, but it is unusual to have the ability to start with a $299/MSRP pistol and have a choice 900 variations.
When I finished, I’d designed a 3.8 -inch long-slide model in “1776 Winter White” atop a 1911-grip style gripped green body. It had a tritium front sight, ambidextrous thumb safety, and tipped the cash register at just over $500.
I really liked what I saw online, but have spent enough time shopping online to realize that there can be a significant difference between what I think I see on the internet, versus what I’ll really see when a product arrived.
That’s when Ramey surprised me with a great offer: he would actually build a pistol to my specifications, then bring it to the NRA Exhibits so I could see if for myself.
And he did.
Short review: loved it.
In full disclosure, I’ve not had much experience on Honor Defense pistols, but I really liked the fit, finish and overall “feel” of the compact pistol. It’s small enough to be easily concealed, and - with the 3.8 inch barrel and 1911 grip configuration, felt solid and workable in my hand.
During the NRA Exhibits, I had the chance to hold "my" Honor Defense custom pistol while talking with Honor Defense's Gary Ramey (above). Now, he's agreed to give you the chance to "win Jim's pistol" (below). OWDN photos by Alex Miceli.
When Gary asked me about where I’d like the gun shipped, I had a sudden burst of inspiration. If it weren’t for you, our readers, there would be no reason why Gary -or any other manufacturer- would be so quick to offer their guns to any of us for testing and evaluation.
So I asked him this question: “Gary, would you be willing to give this gun to one of our readers?”
And….because he’s willing, we’re going to offer you the chance to “win Jim’s gun” - and we’re making it as simple as possible.
If you’re interested, you can get your name in the hat by simply going to Facebook and “following” Honor Defense (https://www.facebook.com/HonorDefense/. Then you simply leave the message “I want to win Jim’s gun” and you’re in.
We’ll pick a random number and the person who has that number will win the pistol. I might even be able to round up some other “stuff” to make an already great deal even better.
We’ll keep you posted.
—Jim Shepherd
